The chief executive of headphone maker Skullcandy is stepping down from the company to join investment firm Solamere Capital. Skullcandy was selling less than a million dollars a year worth of headphones when Jeremy Andrus joined in 2005, but eight years and a $550 million IPO later, the company is pushing on $300 million in annual sales. So why is he moving on?

Skullcandy stock has slumped since its mid-2011 IPO, falling from just under $20 on its first day of trading to $6.21 today (it is down about 6 per cent so far today). The company’s promise of huge growth opportunities in the headphone market, fueled by the growing popularity of smartphones, tablets and mobile gaming, has been somewhat dented by the success of competitor Beats Audio, maker of the ubiquitous Beats By Dre headphones. Beats, which launched in 2008, controls an estimated 53% of the $1 billion headphone market.

Skullcandy is still on the right track, Mr Andrus told Corporate Intelligence on Thursday evening, with the company playing a long-term game, focusing on specialty retailers like independent surf and skate shops. “It’s a smaller channel, it’s more fragmented, but it’s so important to the long term,” he said. Thanks to this, he said, the Skullcandy brand has “a tremendous amount of authenticity” which will keep it relevant as fads come and go.

So why, again, is he leaving? It’s about going back to what he likes doing the most, he said:growing a small company into a big one. At Solamere he’ll work as an “entrepreneur in residence,” helping find and manage investment opportunities. The firm is looking to buy into small businesses with $5-25 million in earnings that are ready for fast growth.

Will his experience in headphones and gadgetry be a hint at the kind of companies he’ll be looking at with Solamere? “I’m industry agnostic,” he said, “and I see myself as a business manager, an operator.” Companies that could utilize his experience from Skullcandy, in areas like branding, consumer product development, and distribution, would make particularly interesting targets, he said.

Solamere said in a statement that Mr Andrus ”has demonstrated a remarkable ability to lead the growth of a small business into a large, highly-profitable company,” and that the firm hopes to find investments that “fit his operating background and talents.”

Mr Andrus, too, has strong connections to the Romneys, and donated more than $100,000 to the Romney campaign and other Republican causes in 2012. “I’m very familiar with them as a family, and with Mitt’s accomplishments in business,” Mr Andrus said. The connections run deep, as the NYT wrote in a piece last July on the prominent Mormon families backing the campaign:

There are new names, as well, including Jeremy Andrus, the chief executive of Skull Candy, who gave $50,000. The Andrus family dates back in Mormon history to Joseph Smith. Records kept online by the Washington County, Utah, historical society show an ancestor, Milo Andrus, bought a house from Mr. Romney’s great-grandfather Miles P. Romney in 1879.

Mr Andrus’ father was a roommate of Mr Romney when the two worked together as Mormon missionaries in France in the 1960s, USA Today reported.

With Mr Andrus moving to Solamere, Skullcandy will be led in the interim period by its founder, Rick Aldren, who has remained with the company as a director since stepping down as CEO in 2011. Skullcandy is looking for a permanent CEO, and Mr Andrus said he will still work with the company in an advisory capacity for the next year. He also holds a significant equity stake in the business — 7.8% according to its 2012 proxy statement — which he said he has no intention of selling.

Had I known Skullcandy had a Romney connection, I wouldn't have bought a set for my daughter. But since they turned out to be Chinese knock offs (I didn't know it at the time), they're not really Skullcandy headphones.